Of the millions of books published each year, only a small percentage are able to scratch their way into the mainstream.
A group of San Antonio authors is establishing a co-op publishing house to give writers more support publishing and marketing their books.
“Really [we want to] build a system that helps support authors in that journey and treating every book that we launch as if it could be the next big thing,” said Christopher Bodmann, one of the founders of Inbound Books.
Jayne Bodmann, Christopher Bodmann, Joseph Guyer and BJ Bell launched Inbound Books on Aug. 27. They wanted writers to have more control over how their books are published and how much money they can make.
Christopher Bodmann said the quartet of San Antonio-based authors felt that many publishers didn’t adequately support writers.
He planned to publish several short novels targeting preteens called the “Kid Comet” series, but felt like he wasn’t getting marketing support. Now, those books are the first to come out under the Inbound Books banner.
Christopher Bodmann and the other founders of Inbound began to discuss the logistics of publishing and the treatment of authors. Creating social media and marketing strategies became foundational for the new co-op publisher.
“Every Inbound title receives a foundational marketing plan and an author toolkit with practical guidance on social media, events, media interviews, podcast appearances and long-term promotion,” according to a press release announcing the launch.
Christopher Bodmann added that authors who join the co-op have an opportunity to lend their skills and profit from them. If one author helps another with marketing, artwork or other needs, they can earn a proportional share of the profits.
Inbound Books wants a majority of royalties, 50%, to be directed to the authors themselves.
Christopher Bodmann added that the co-op is open to any author. They do plan to work with local bookstores in San Antonio and South Texas and to work with distributors to get their titles in local libraries.
“That’s something that’s a big part of what we want to do, work with local bookstores,” he said.
